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Nick Duke
Nick Duke, previously Falco di Chimici of Giglia, is a Stravagante originally from Talia, under circumstances that mirror that of Lucien Mulholland. He is a student at Barnsbury Comprehensive. Like many members of the di Chimici family, Falco is considered handsome, though he is initially badly crippled from a riding accident. After completing his physical therapy in England, he quickly trains his body and becomes strong and fit; Matt Wood describes him as "...almost as tall as Matt and well-muscled. He didn't have a rugby-player build like Matt but was wirier, like the fencer he was."City of Secrets Background Falco di Chimici was the youngest child of Duke Niccolo and Benedetta di Chimici; at birth, he became the most beloved of Niccolo's children and was considered the most promising and handsome. He was very close to his brother Gaetano. As a child, he was hotheaded and used to getting what he wished, as he was confident in his abilities. When he was told that he was too young and small to ride a spirited horse that had been given to Gaetano, Falco secretly stole the horse from the stable. However, the horse was spooked during the ride and fell, crushing Falco's legs when it landed. He was crippled from the waist down from then on, and had to walk with sticks. Two years later he meets Luciano Crinamorte, and Georgia O'Grady (disguised in Talia as a boy named "Giorgio Gredi"), and he, along with his brother Gaetano, discover that they are Stravaganti. After Falco and Gaetano demonstrate themselves to be good-hearted and trustworthy, Luciano and Georgia agree to a plan to send Falco to England, where medicine has advanced to the point that Falco's legs can be fixed. However, Falco agrees to go at the cost of never returning to Talia again, leaving the life he has behind along with his loving family. Using Georgia's eyebrow ring as his talisman, Falco puts a half-empty bottle of poison on his bed so it appears he killed himself and stravagates to England. He arrives in London, claims memory loss, and is adopted by Vicky and David Mulholland, and proceeds to go through the necessary treatment and recovery. In Talia, his body weakens until the point at which his father reluctantly ends Falco's life, resulting in Falco's permanent translation to England. Currently Living in England as Nick Duke, Falco gradually adjusts to his life in the 21st century and becomes a student at Barnsbury Comprehensive. Thanks to the medical advances of the era, his treatments are successful and he soon becomes known as the school's champion fencer, admired by his peers for his good looks and dedicated training regimen. He develops an unreciprocated crush on Georgia, who remains his closest friend, and becomes friends with Alice Greaves and Mortimer Goldsmith. Like Luciano, Nick is still a Stravagante despite being permanently translated; his second talisman is one of Merla's feathers, which was given to him by Georgia. When Sky Meadows is revealed to be a Stravagante to Giglia, Nick is determined to return to Talia to see his family again. Exchanging Merla's feather for a quill pen from Brother Sulien, Nick stravagates to Giglia and is reunited with Gaetano, the only member of his family to know Falco's true fate, under the guise of a Domenican novice friar named Brother Benvenuto. In order to help his friends and stop his father from becoming a tyrant, Nick teaches Sky and Luciano how to fence. However, Nick's own sense of displacement and his understanding that Georgia still has feelings for Luciano drive him to suggest to Luciano that they attempt to die again in their respective worlds to translate back to the eras they were born in. Nick's emotional state is further destablized when he insists on appearing at Niccolo and Luciano's duel, in hopes that Nick's inexplicable appearance will distract Niccolo into losing the duel, and is upset when Niccolo is distracted enough that Luciano unwittingly strikes Niccolo with a poisoned foil. As a result, Nick feels responsible for his father's death. To convince Nick to remain in England, Georgia lets go of her feelings for Luciano and reciprocates Nick's feelings for her. They agree not to stravagate to Talia any longer so Nick no longer feels as though he has nothing to hold onto in England. They begin dating afterward. In City of Secrets, Nick and Georgia befriend Matt Wood after he obtains his talisman in Mortimer Goldsmith's antique shop. They aid him in curing Jago Jones of the Evil Eye spell that Matt accidentally casts on him, though they unexpectedly wind up reuniting Luciano with his parents when Luciano stravagates to England to help Matt. Both Nick and Georgia avoid stravagating to Talia until City of Ships, when Georgia secretly agrees to accompany Isabel Evans, the new stravagate, to Remora. The couple briefly have a falling out and Nick impulsively stravagates to Giglia to accompany Isabel, though Sky arrives as well to prevent Nick from causing trouble. Nick's temper is checked when he is reunited with Gaetano again, though he winds up causing trouble again when he is accidentally seen by his brother Fabrizio and is forced to return to England. He and Georgia reconcile and during their stravagation to Bellezza, Nick is able to see his sister Beatrice, who has been considered trustworthy enough to know that her youngest brother is alive in another world. Notes and References *He takes the name "Nick Duke" in honour of his father. Niccolo is an Italian variant of Nicholas and his father was Duke of Giglia, so Falco took the last name of Duke. Category:Characters Category:Stravaganti Category:Talian Character Category:English Character Category:Deceased Characters Category:Di Chimici